Liverpool Target Wesley Sneijder Explains Anfield Snub

Brendan Rodgers believes Lucas Leiva will not return to his best until next season

Dutch international Wesley Sneijder is set to join Turkish club Galatasaray in an £8.4m deal, according to the Telegraph, bringing an end to his four-year spell with Serie A club Inter Milan. The report adds the player will sign a three-and-a-half year deal.

The Telegraph report quotes from the club's Web site: "The transfer of Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan has been agreed. The conditions of the deal will be made public and the player will sign the contract after health checks."

The 28-year-old former Real Madrid midfielder has had a chequered career at the Giuseppe Meazza, going from the highs of leading the Nerazzurri to a fantastic treble of the Italian league, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia in 2010, to a stand-off with club president Massimo Moratti over negotiations to reduce a pay package reported at £200,000 per week. Sneijder's refusal to negotiate a reduction led to him being frozen out of the first team and a transfer was believed inevitable.

Sneijder was earlier linked with Liverpool and Tottenham, in addition to struggling QPR. He was believed to have been delaying his transfer to Galatasaray in the hopes of a bid from the Anfield club. However, the Ajax youth product has now spoken out on his connection with Brendan Rodgers' club and has implied he rejected the Premier League club because they are unable to challenge for trophies.

A Goal.com report quotes Sneijder (in an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf) as saying: "I want to play for titles" when asked why he chose Galatasaray over the Reds.

Rodgers on Lucas Leiva

Meanwhile, Liverpool's Web site quotes Rodgers as saying Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva has yet to hit his full stride, after recovering from a thigh injury. The 26-year-old holding midfielder is a key member of the Reds' first team and his value to the side was illustrated in the club's emphatic 5-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday.

"I still don't think you're going to see the best of Lucas until probably next season. When you're out for a year, it takes a while to get back," Rodgers explained, adding, "We're just trying to get him as many games and minutes as we can. Against Norwich, both he and Steven Gerrard were fantastic."